Mindful self-improvement really does start to improve the quality of life, particularly in terms of day-to-day enjoyment.

These past 5 years have felt like an impossible march to nowhere, and a constant purging of unattractive qualities. A specific stubbornness kept me going – something like a voice saying “don’t accept”. I’ve always focused on actions and strategies to make things better in this world, both personally and globally.

Nothing I’ve done specifically I can point to improving my life. Viewed in aggregate, one can make the argument that the sum total of actions resulted in an improved state. But I think it’s philosophy and time that make the most sense for analyzing the cause of self-improvement. The philosophy to invest in yourself sustained over a period of time during which one will inevitably forget the reason for embarking on self-improvement in the first place.

Time helps. In experiencing the passing of time, and the life events that occur over 1, 5 and 10 year increments, one can plan his life better. the over-achiever can rest assured that they are on the correct path and to not hurry through life at the expense of day to day enjoyment, which is all that matters in the final analysis. To improve enjoyment, it is very helpful to mindfully disengage with troubling and anxiety-ridden thoughts, to laugh at yourself, and then return to doing the best you can.